3 ms·

I always strive to use correct spelling and punctuation regardless of the media used and tend to view people who fail to do so as being less educated than those

by D9u 13y ago

I always strive to use correct spelling and punctuation regardless of the media used and tend to view people who fail to do so as being less educated than those who take the time to do as I do. So fuck off if you misconstrue a properly placed bit of punctuation.

vdaniuk 13y ago
So much empathy./s Context is extremely important in non-verbal, text communication. You are only harming yourself and your relationships with others by employing such attitude.
TheSOB888 13y ago
I have to agree with vdianuk (or whatever) here. You may not think you're being judgmental by applying criteria to others' grammar, but you are. You aren't writing a book; you're talking to someone. IMing in completely perfect sentences does give an air of distance.
- falcolas 13y ago
  We're humans; of course we're judgemental. If you forget your punctuation (or use the wrong punctuation) in a cover letter, you're going to be judged on that as well (and probably not get the job). First impressions are important to humans. "y ru not here" will be judged very differently from "Just wanted to make sure you're still able to come."
- Zancarius 13y ago
  On the other hand, couldn't it be construed as just as judgmental when you feel that way about "perfect" sentences? There's something to be said about taking the written word at face value and trying not to read into it much. I suspect the latter is because, without verbal cues or body language present, the human brain requires addition input to read the emotional state of the writer. Without that, it examines things that are probably incidental and meaningless but certainly not without consequence.
  - TheSOB888 13y ago
    I am being judgmental - I'm suggesting he is wrong. It's just that in this case, he is judging a lot of others harshly, and I'm judging him for that. We at HN are probably not the most emotionally connected anyways, so there's going to be a huge gap between the average HN experience/opinion on this topic vs. the general population.
    - Zancarius 13y ago
      > We at HN are probably not the most emotionally connected anyways, so there's going to be a huge gap between the average HN experience/opinion on this topic vs. the general population This is probably quite true, particularly for those of us who are of the INTx MBTIs. That said, my sarcasm was an attempt to illustrate the silly nature of this entire debate. Although I do agree with the OP (insofar as I can't help myself from feeling lax capitalization and punctuation is lazy), I also can't help but feel that getting worked up over punctuation is rather stupid. We're probably in agreement to that end, though.
Zancarius 13y ago
I have to admit that I chuckled at this comment, but mostly because I was nodding in partial agreement and partially because I expected to find at least one comment that said exactly this. :) Wherever possible, I try to do the same. I understand it can be difficult with text messages quickly hammered out on a less than ideal interface, but I still can't shake the thought that refusal to at least properly capitalize is at the very least lazy. Although, I do find that as the years go by, I generally ignore these things if I'm already familiar with the person I'm communicating with, their habits, and typing behavior. Alarms only go off for me if their typing habits change dramatically (capitalizing where they normally didn't), because it means that they're on a different device than they normally use or because something else is going on.
- hosh 13y ago
  Most of the time, you can take the extra time to form your thought properly. Are we really in that much of a hurry?
  - Zancarius 13y ago
    No, I don't think so. Not generally, that is (standing in a line, distractions, or messy transportation notwithstanding). There's a part of me that feels a certain dismay for the mangling we've wrought upon the written word, but mostly because I know there isn't anything much that can be done... Although I do find one thing of particular amusement. A friend of mine IMs me with proper punctuation and capitalization only when he's on his iDevice and not at a keyboard. So I have to wonder if sometimes the opposite of TFA's argument is applicable...

by D9u 13y ago

vdaniuk 13y ago

So much empathy./s Context is extremely important in non-verbal, text communication. You are only harming yourself and your relationships with others by employing such attitude.

TheSOB888 13y ago

I have to agree with vdianuk (or whatever) here. You may not think you're being judgmental by applying criteria to others' grammar, but you are. You aren't writing a book; you're talking to someone. IMing in completely perfect sentences does give an air of distance.

falcolas 13y ago
We're humans; of course we're judgemental. If you forget your punctuation (or use the wrong punctuation) in a cover letter, you're going to be judged on that as well (and probably not get the job). First impressions are important to humans. "y ru not here" will be judged very differently from "Just wanted to make sure you're still able to come."
Zancarius 13y ago
On the other hand, couldn't it be construed as just as judgmental when you feel that way about "perfect" sentences? There's something to be said about taking the written word at face value and trying not to read into it much. I suspect the latter is because, without verbal cues or body language present, the human brain requires addition input to read the emotional state of the writer. Without that, it examines things that are probably incidental and meaningless but certainly not without consequence.
- TheSOB888 13y ago
  I am being judgmental - I'm suggesting he is wrong. It's just that in this case, he is judging a lot of others harshly, and I'm judging him for that. We at HN are probably not the most emotionally connected anyways, so there's going to be a huge gap between the average HN experience/opinion on this topic vs. the general population.
  - Zancarius 13y ago
    > We at HN are probably not the most emotionally connected anyways, so there's going to be a huge gap between the average HN experience/opinion on this topic vs. the general population This is probably quite true, particularly for those of us who are of the INTx MBTIs. That said, my sarcasm was an attempt to illustrate the silly nature of this entire debate. Although I do agree with the OP (insofar as I can't help myself from feeling lax capitalization and punctuation is lazy), I also can't help but feel that getting worked up over punctuation is rather stupid. We're probably in agreement to that end, though.

Zancarius 13y ago

I have to admit that I chuckled at this comment, but mostly because I was nodding in partial agreement and partially because I expected to find at least one comment that said exactly this. :) Wherever possible, I try to do the same. I understand it can be difficult with text messages quickly hammered out on a less than ideal interface, but I still can't shake the thought that refusal to at least properly capitalize is at the very least lazy. Although, I do find that as the years go by, I generally ignore these things if I'm already familiar with the person I'm communicating with, their habits, and typing behavior. Alarms only go off for me if their typing habits change dramatically (capitalizing where they normally didn't), because it means that they're on a different device than they normally use or because something else is going on.

hosh 13y ago
Most of the time, you can take the extra time to form your thought properly. Are we really in that much of a hurry?
- Zancarius 13y ago
  No, I don't think so. Not generally, that is (standing in a line, distractions, or messy transportation notwithstanding). There's a part of me that feels a certain dismay for the mangling we've wrought upon the written word, but mostly because I know there isn't anything much that can be done... Although I do find one thing of particular amusement. A friend of mine IMs me with proper punctuation and capitalization only when he's on his iDevice and not at a keyboard. So I have to wonder if sometimes the opposite of TFA's argument is applicable...